Head-wearable hearing instrument with improved co-existence of multiple communication interfaces

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates in a first aspect to a head-wearable hearing instrument comprising first and second portions and a radio-frequency data communication interface configured to transmit and receive data packets at transmit and receipt time slots, respectively, through a wireless communication channel. The head-wearable hearing instrument comprises a connector assembly configured to electrically and mechanically interconnect the first portion with the second portion. The second portion comprises a sensor configured to measure a physical property and generate sensor data representative of the measured physical property. The head-wearable hearing instrument further comprises a wired data communication link extending between the first and second portions through the connector assembly for transmission of sensor data during transmit time slots. Said transmit time slots of the sensor data and at least said receipt time slots of the wireless communication channel are non-overlapping in time.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

This application claims priority to, and the benefit of, Danish PatentApplication No. PA 2020 70500 filed on Jul. 27, 2020. The entiredisclosure of the above application is expressly incorporated byreference herein.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates in a first aspect to a head-wearablehearing instrument comprising first and second housing portions and aradio-frequency data communication interface configured to transmit andreceive data packets at transmit and receipt time slots, respectively,through a wireless communication channel. The head-wearable hearinginstrument comprises a connector assembly configured to electrically andmechanically interconnect the first housing portion with the secondhousing portion. The second housing portion comprises a sensorconfigured to measure a physical property and generate sensor datarepresentative of the measured physical property. The head-wearablehearing instrument further comprises a wired data communication linkextending between the first and second housing portions through theconnector assembly for transmission of sensor data during transmit timeslots. Said transmit time slots of the sensor data and at least saidreceipt time slots of the wireless communication channel arenon-overlapping in time.

BACKGROUND

Head-wearable hearing instruments such as hearing aids, headsets, activenoise suppressors, are known in the art and typically comprise amicrophone arrangement which includes one or more microphones forreceipt of incoming sound such as speech and music signals. The incomingsound may be converted to an electrical microphone signal or signalsthat are amplified and/or processed in a processing circuit of theinstrument. The head-wearable hearing instrument may additionallycomprise an output amplifier that delivers a processed output signal,e.g. hearing loss compensated output signal, to the user's ear canal viaan output transducer such as a miniature speaker, receiver or possiblyelectrode array. The head-wearable hearing instrument typicallycomprises a radio-frequency (RF) wireless data communication interfacefor communication or streaming of various types of useful digitalsignals like sound, music, speech with an external device such as asmartphone, tablet device, Tv-sets etc. The radio-frequency (RF)wireless data communication interface may be Bluetooth compliantoperating in the 2.4 GHz frequency band and thereby allow thehead-wearable hearing instrument to wirelessly connect to numerous typesof readily available external devices.

A particular type of head-wearable hearing instruments are known in theart as so-called Receiver-in-Ear (RIE) instruments t in which a firsthousing portion, often designated BTE module or section for hearingaids, is configured for placement at, or behind, the user's ear. Asecond housing portion, often denoted RIE module, is configured, e.g.shaped and sized, for placement at least partly in the user's ear canal.The BTE module and RIE module of this type of head-wearable hearinginstrument are often mechanically and electrically interconnected via asuitable, and possibly, releasable flexible connector arrangement. Theabove-mentioned radio-frequency wireless data communication interface istypically fully or at least partly arranged inside the BTE module.

The RIE module may comprise one or several sensors that are configuredto measure respective physical properties associated with the operationof the hearing instrument such as ear canal sound pressure, eartemperature, EEG signals, or spatial orientation of RIE module. Thesensor signals may be transmitted to a processor e.g. microprocessor orDSP, of the BTE module as digital data by a suitable wired datacommunication interface or link of the RIE module and through theconnector assembly.

There exist a general desire to integrate an increasing number of suchsensors in the RIE module while the sophistication of each of thesesensors also tends to increase with the continuing progress ofsemiconductor fabrication and MEMS technologies. These circumstancesmake it feasible to monitor an increasing number of parametersassociated with the operation of the head-wearable hearing instrumentand as such of potential relevance for e.g. an audiologist's evaluationof the performance of the instrument or generally for the user'sexperience and satisfaction with the instrument.

However, the increasing number and sophistication of these sensors inthe RIE module lead to an increasing data rate or frequency on the datacommunication interface of the RIE module and possibly to a morecontinuous streaming of these data over time to the BTE module via thedata communication interface. The increasing data rate and on the datacommunication interface unfortunately leads to an increasing level andbandwidth of EMI noise induced by the wired data communication interfacewhich noise for example is emitted from wiring of the connectorassembly. This increasing level and bandwidth of EMI noise cause variousinterference problems with the radio-frequency (RF) wireless datacommunication interface such that wireless data reception at thehead-wearable hearing instrument may be interrupted or the wirelessrange reduced.

This problem is addressed and solved by one or more embodimentsdescribed herein. For example, in one or more embodiments describedherein, the above problem may be addressed by preventing (e.g., byconfiguration or adaptation of the processor of the BTE module) overlapbetween time slots where the wired communication interface of the RIEmodule is active and time slots where the wireless data communicationinterface is active.

SUMMARY

A first aspect relates to a head-wearable hearing instrument comprising:

-   -   a first housing portion configured for placement at, or behind,        a user's ear and comprising a radio-frequency data communication        interface configured to transmit and receive data packets at        transmit and receipt time slots, respectively, through a        wireless communication channel;    -   a connector assembly configured to electrically and mechanically        interconnect the first housing portion with a second housing        portion. The second housing portion is configured for placement        in the user's ear canal and comprising a sensor configured to        measure a physical property associated with operation of the        head-wearable hearing instrument and generate sensor data        representative of the measured physical property. The        head-wearable hearing instrument further comprises a wired data        communication link extending between the first and second        housing portions through the connector assembly for transmission        of sensor data during transmit time slots defined by a processor        e.g. a processor arranged in the first housing portion; wherein        said transmit time slots of the sensor data and at least said        receipt time slots of the wireless communication channel are        non-overlapping in time.

The present disclosure addresses and solves the above-discussed problemswith existing RIE hearing instruments by utilizing non-overlapping timeslots for receipt of the data packets of the wireless communicationchannel and transmission of sensor data, e.g. sensor data packets orsensor data messages.

In certain embodiments the transmit time slots of the sensor data orsensor messages on the wired communication link and said transmit timeslots of the wireless communication channel are non-overlapping in time.The skilled person will appreciate that the receipt time slots athead-wearable hearing instrument are most noise and interferencecritical, because of the relatively high noise sensitivity of typicalradio transceiver circuits as discussed in additional detail below withreference to the appended drawings.

The first housing portion of the head-wearable hearing instrument maycomprise a processor such as a software programmable microprocessorand/or dedicated digital computational hardware for example comprising ahard-wired Digital Signal Processor (DSP). In the alternative, theprocessor may comprise a software programmable DSP or a combination ofdedicated digital computational hardware and the software programmableDSP. The software programmable microprocessor or DSP may be configuredto perform any of the tasks described herein by suitable programroutines or sub-routines or threads of execution each comprising a setof executable program instructions. The set of executable programinstructions may be stored in a non-volatile memory device of the firsthousing portion of BTE module. The microprocessor and/or the dedicateddigital hardware may be integrated on an ASIC or implemented on a FPGAdevice.

The processor is preferably configured to define the time slots fortransmission of the sensor data messages or packets by polling a datainterface in the second housing portion coupled to the wired datacommunication link. The processor may be aware of the transmit timeslots and receipt time slots of the wireless communication channel byknowledge of the communication protocol thereof e.g. Bluetooth LE and/orknowledge of the current connection parameters. In this manner, theprocessor can be configured to poll the data interface of the wired datacommunication link at appropriate time instants to ensure non-overlapwith the known transmit time slots and receipt time slots of thewireless communication channel as discussed in additional detail belowwith reference to the appended drawings.

The second housing portion may comprise:

-   -   a stiff hollow shell accommodating therein at least the        miniature loudspeaker, the sensor and a first data communication        interface coupled to the wired data communication link,    -   a compressible elastomeric ear plug or mushroom releasably        coupled to the stiff hollow shell and shaped and sized for        placement within the user's ear canal. In other embodiments, the        stiff hollow shell is customized to the user's ear canal        geometry and may have been fabricated by an impression or 3D        scanning of the user' ear canal e.g. using various additive        manufacturing techniques.

The second housing portion comprise may one or more additional sensorsconfigured to measure respective physical properties or variables; saidone or more additional sensors may e.g. be connected to the wired datacommunication link via respective data interfaces or through a shareddata interface. The sensor or sensors arranged in the second housingportion may comprise at least one of:

-   -   a microphone arranged to pick-up ear canal sound pressure of the        user or to pick-up sound pressure from an external environment        at the user's ear;    -   ear temperature;    -   a spatial orientation of the second housing portion for example        using a MEMS gyroscopic sensor;    -   electroencephalography (EEG) signals of the user e.g. via        suitable electrodes in contact with the user ear canal.

The user's ear canal sound pressure may be helpful to various activeocclusion suppression algorithms or functions executed by the processorwhile pick-up of sound pressure from the external environment at theuser's ear may be used by a beamforming algorithm using multiplemicrophones at different locations of the head-wearable hearinginstrument. The first housing portion may for example comprise anothermicrophone.

The second housing portion preferably comprises a receiver or miniatureloudspeaker configured to emit sound in accordance with an audio drivesignal supplied through at least two electrically conducting wires ortraces of the connector assembly.

The radio-frequency data communication interface may comprises aBluetooth or Bluetooth LE compliant interface or other standardizedwireless communication interface for example operating in the 2.4 GHzrange. A communication protocol of the radio-frequency datacommunication interface may comprise a plurality of successiveconnection events defining the receipt time slots and the transmit timeslots as discussed for a Bluetooth LE implementation in additionaldetail below with reference to the appended drawings. Theradio-frequency data communication interface may comprise an RF antenna,e.g. configured for operation in the 2.4 GHz band, comprising at leastone electrically conductive wire or trace of the connector assembly, forexample including electrically conductive wires of the wired datacommunication link. Alternatively, the RF antenna may be arranged insidethe first housing portion and for example comprise one or more coiledtraces of an electronics carrier substrate, e.g. multi-layer printedcircuit board, supporting the processor and/or other electroniccomponents of the first housing portion.

The first housing portion may be physically connected to an externalportable or non-portable communication device such a smartphone ortablet etc. during said successive connection events and disconnectedduring intermediate idle time periods as discussed in additional detailbelow with reference to the appended drawings.

Other embodiments of the radio-frequency data communication interfacemay be based on Near Field Magnetic Induction (NFMI) and operate in amuch lower MHz frequency band or range—for example using a carrierfrequency between 1 MHz and 30 MHz, more preferably using a carrierfrequency of 10.66 MHz, or 13.56 MHz, or 22.66 MHz, etc. NFMIcommunication systems have a short range, typically less than 2 m, andthese embodiments of the present radio-frequency data communicationinterface are particularly well-suited for ear-to-ear communicationbetween a pair of head-wearable hearing instruments such as left ear andright ear hearing aids of a binaural hearing aid system. The NFMIantenna of the head-wearable hearing instrument may be embedded inmultilayer printed circuit board (PCB) arranged in the first housingportion. The NFMI antenna may comprise a coil, preferably a coil with amagnetic core.

The wired data communication link may be proprietary or compliant withan industry standard such as I²C, SPI, one-wire, etc. The wired datacommunication link may comprise a clock signal that may be helpful tosynchronize events of the first housing portion and events of the secondhousing portion.

The second housing portion may comprise a volatile or non-volatilememory circuit for temporary storage of sensor data from the sensor ormultiple sets of sensor data from multiple sensors before these areread-out and transmitted to the first housing portion through a datainterface circuit of the second housing portion.

The connector assembly may comprise a flexible portion or section andmay comprise flexible carrier substrate and/or a flexible outer coating.The connector assembly preferably comprises a plurality of electricallyconducting wires or traces interconnecting a wired data communicationinterface of the first housing portion with a wired data communicationinterface of the second housing portion as discussed in additionaldetail below with reference to the appended drawings.

The actual number of electrically conducting wires or traces of theconnector assembly may vary depending on characteristics of the secondhousing portion, for example the number of transducers e.g. receiversand sensors like microphones, arranged therein. For practical reasonssuch as size and costs, the number of connector wires will typically beless than 10 for example between 2 and 8 connector wires. Various designefforts may be undertaken to minimize the number of connector wires forexample implementing multiple functionalities of a particular connectorwire.

The connector assembly may be coupled to the first or second housingportion in a releasable manner via a pair of connector elements likeplugs and sockets. A first connector element may comprise a plug with aplurality of electrical terminals and second connector element maycomprise a mating socket, or vice versa, as discussed in additionaldetail below with reference to the appended drawings.

A second aspect relates to a method of controlling data transmissiontime slots through a wired communication interface between first andsecond interconnected housing portions of a head-wearable hearinginstrument, said method comprising:

-   -   a) determine receipt time slots of data packets of a        radio-frequency data communication interface of the first        housing portion by a processor thereof,    -   b) measure a physical property associated with the operation of        the instrument by at least one senor of the second housing        portion,    -   c) generate sensor data representative of the measured physical        property,    -   d) transmit the sensor data to the first housing portion through        a wired data communication link extending through a connector        assembly between the first and second housing portions at data        transmit time slots defined by the processor,    -   e) control the data transmit time slots of the wired        communication link such that they do not overlap said receipt        time slots of the radio-frequency data communication interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are described in more detail below in connection with theappended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an exemplary Receiver-in-Ear (RIE)hearing instrument in accordance with various embodiments,

FIG. 2 shows an in-the-ear housing portion and a flexible connectorassembly of the Receiver-in-Ear (RIE) hearing instrument,

FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of various parts of theReceiver-in-Ear (RIE) hearing instrument and a block diagram of anexternal mobile terminal; and

FIG. 4 shows a timing diagram for data exchange over a wirelesscommunication channel and data exchange over a wired data link between aRIE module detection sub-routine executed by the processor of theReceiver-in-Ear (RIE) hearing instrument.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Various exemplary embodiments of a Receiver-in-Ear (RIE) type ofhead-wearable hearing instrument and details are described hereinafter,with reference to the figures when relevant. It should be noted that thefigures may or may not be drawn to scale and that elements of similarstructures or functions are represented by like reference numeralsthroughout the figures. Like elements or components will therefore notnecessarily be described in detail with respect to each figure. Itshould also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitatethe description of the embodiments. They are not intended as anexhaustive description of the invention or as a limitation on the scopeof the invention. In addition, an illustrated embodiment needs not haveall the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage describedin conjunction with a particular embodiment is not necessarily limitedto that embodiment and can be practiced in any other embodiments even ifnot so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described.

In addition, the skilled person will further appreciate that certainactions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular orderof occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that suchspecificity with respect to sequence is not actually required.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic drawing of an exemplary Receiver-in-Ear (RIE)type of head-wearable hearing instrument in accordance with variousembodiments. The RIE hearing instrument 100 comprises a first housingportion 102 and a second housing portion 300 mechanically andelectrically connected to each other via a flexible connector assembly200. The flexible connector assembly 200 may for example comprisesflexible carrier substrate and/or an elastomeric or plastic tube 202 orcoating and additionally comprises a plurality of electricallyconducting wires or traces interconnecting a wired data communicationinterface of the first housing portion 102 with corresponding wired datacommunication interface of the second housing portion 304. Theelastomeric or plastic tube 202 or coating preferably surrounds andprotects the plurality of connector wires or traces.

The skilled person will appreciate that the first housing portion 102,or BTE module 102, typically is shaped and sized for placement at orbehind a hearing impaired user's left or right ear—for example behind aback of the user's pinna where it may be at least partly hidden. Thesecond housing portion 300 or RIE module 300 is typically shaped andsized for, or configured for, placement at least partly inside theuser's ear canal. The RIE module 300 may comprise a stiff hollow shellcustomized shell (not shown) with an outer surface of geometry fittingto the user's ear canal. The customized shell (not shown) may have beenfabricated from an impression or 3D scanning of the user' ear canal e.g.using various additive manufacturing techniques. The customized shell(not shown) may accommodate therein at least a miniature loudspeaker(not shown) for receipt of an audio drive signal through a pair ofconnector wires as discussed below in additional detail. The miniatureloudspeaker (not shown) may be enclosed within the customized shell (notshown) and serve to attenuate sound pressure leakage and protect theminiature loudspeaker from potentially harmful forces and contaminantsof the external environment such as dust, humidity, light and mechanicalshocks.

Alternative embodiments of the RIE module 300 has no customized shellbut utilizes a standardized rigid and hollow housing 304 surrounded by acompressible plug or mushroom 302 which is shaped and sized foranchoring within the user's ear canal. The compressible plug 304 maycomprise an elastomeric substance, e.g. silicone, and preferablycomprises a sound channel or port 306 transmitting or conveying soundsignals, or output sound pressure, generated by the miniatureloudspeaker towards the eardrum of the user. The compressible plug 302is configured to be comfortably positioned and retained within user'sear canal during use of the RIE hearing instrument 100. The compressibleplug 302 may be interchangeable and comprise various types ofelastomeric compounds or foam compounds with suitable wear-and-tearproperties. The skilled person will appreciate that the compressibleplug 302 may be fabricated in numerous sizes to fit different ear canalsizes of different hearing aid users. The RIE module 300 additionallycomprises at least one sensor 310 (not shown here but refer to FIG. 2 )configured to measure a physical property for example propertyassociated with operation of the head-wearable hearing instrument andgenerate sensor data representative of the measured physical property.

A proximal end 213 of the previously discussed flexible connectorassembly 200 may be fixedly terminated at the rigid housing structure304 of the RIE module 300 and the plurality of electrical connectorwires or traces connected to the electrical circuitry held in the rigidhousing structure 304. As illustrated on FIG. 2 , in certain embodimentsof the RIE hearing instrument 100, a plug 218 comprising a plurality ofelectrical terminals or pads 215 a-215 h such as more than 4 or 6 or 10terminals arranged at distal end of the flexible connector assembly 200.Each of the electrical terminals or pads 215 a-215 h may mate in areleasable manner to a corresponding electrical terminal (not shown) ofa corresponding connector element or connector socket (not visible)arranged at a rear surface of the first/BTE housing portion 102.

The connector assembly 200 typically comprises a plurality ofelectrically conducting wires or traces 208 a-h (shown on FIG. 3 )—forexample between 2 and 10, such as eight, individual electrical wiresconfigured to interconnect various electrical circuit components of theBTE and ITC housing portions 102, 304 as discussed below in additionaldetail.

The BTE housing portion 102 may comprise a hollow relatively rigidhousing structure 103 accommodating therein various electronic circuitryof the first housing portion 102. This rigid housing structure 103 maybe fabricated by injection moulding of a suitable elastomeric compound.The rigid housing structure 103 serves to protect the components andelectronic circuitry of the first housing portion 102 from potentiallyharmful forces and contaminants of the external environment such asdust, humidity, light and mechanical shocks. The first housing portion102 may comprise a battery chamber 105 for holding a disposable batterysuch as a Zinc-Air battery cell. Other embodiments of the RIE hearinginstrument 100 may comprise a rechargeable battery cell or cells. Thefirst housing portion 102 may comprise a front microphone (not shown)and/or a rear microphone (not shown) for conversion of an acoustic soundsignal into respective audio sound signals and one or several A/Dconverters (not shown) for conversion of the audio sound signals intorespective digital audio signals. The first housing portion 102 maycomprise a processor 111, such as software programmable microprocessoror DSP 111, configured to generate a hearing loss compensated soundsignal based on the digital audio signals supplied by the microphone(s).The software programmable microprocessor or DSP 111, may additionally beconfigured to handle various control and I/O data transmission tasks ofthe RIE hearing instrument 100. The software programmable microprocessoror DSP 111 may additionally be configured to generate a hearing losscompensated output signal, or audio drive signal, computed by a hearingloss compensation algorithm executing on the software programmablemicroprocessor or DSP 111. The audio drive signal may be transmittedthrough a dedicated pair of connector wires of the plurality ofconnector wires discussed above to a receiver or miniature loudspeakerenclosed within the second housing portion 300. The first housingportion 102 may comprise various user interface features such as a useractuable button or switch 108 allowing the user to control variousfunctions and settings of the RIE hearing instrument 100 in accordancewith his/hers own preferences such as a volume setting and presetprogram selection etc. The first housing portion 102 further comprises aradio-frequency data communication interface which includes an RFantenna 104 coupled to a wireless transceiver 116 and wireless interface114. The skilled person will understand that the wireless transceiver116 and wireless interface 114 may be separate circuit blocks or beintegrated with the processor 111 on a common semiconductor substrate ordie. The radio-frequency data communication interface is configured totransmit and receive data packets at transmit and receipt time slots,respectively, through a wireless communication channel 400 as discussedin additional detail below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 .

The RF antenna 104 is arranged inside the first housing portion 102 andfor example comprise one or more coiled traces of an electronics carriersubstrate (not shown) supporting the processor 111. In alternativeembodiments the RF antenna 104 comprises at least one electricallyconductive wire or trace 208 a-h (on FIG. 3 ) of the connector assembly200, for example including electrically conductive wires of the wireddata communication link.

FIG. 3 shows a simplified block diagram of various parts of theReceiver-in-Ear (RIE) hearing instrument 100 and a block diagram of anexternal terminal 500 which is wirelessly connected to the RIE hearinginstrument 100 via a bidirectional or one-way wireless communicationchannel 400. The external terminal may comprise a battery poweredportable or mobile device like a smartphone or may alternativelycomprise a stationary mains powered device like a Tv streamer etc. FIG.3 also shows a simplified electric block diagram of the exemplary RIEhearing instrument 100 discussed above. The illustrated embodiment ofthe RIE Module 300 comprises, in addition to the previously discussedminiature loudspeaker or receiver 308, a microphone 310 arranged topick-up ear canal sound pressure, p_ear, of the user. In otherembodiments of the RIE Module 300 the microphone may be arranged topick-up sound pressure from an external environment at the user's ear,i.e. the microphone sound inlet may be oriented in an oppositedirection. The skilled person will appreciate that other embodiments ofthe RIE Module 300 may comprise additional sensor(s) or alternativetypes of sensor(s) for example least one of:

-   -   ear temperature measurement device;    -   a spatial orientation of the second housing portion 300;    -   electroencephalography (EEG) signals of the user for example via        suitable electrodes contacting the ear canal wall of the user.

The RIE Module 300 and the BTE housing portion 102 are mechanically andelectrically interconnected in a releasable manner via the previouslydiscussed mating pairs of connector terminals P1-P8 and their associatedconnector wires. The miniature loudspeaker 308 (refer to FIG. 3 ) isconnected to complementary phases of the previously discussed audiodrive signal delivered by an H-bridge output driver (not shown) throughthe connector terminals 215 a, 215 b and their associated connectorwires. An H-bridge class D output driver (not shown) may be integratedon a common semiconductor substrate or die together with the DSP ormicroprocessor 101 of the first housing portion 102. The microphone 310of the RIE Module 300 may be energized by one more wires 208 a-h of theflexible connector assembly 200 which are connected to the appropriateelectronic circuitry, e.g. a regulated DC voltage supply, of the firsthousing portion 102. An output signal of the microphone 308 iselectrically connected to a data interface circuit 307 which preferablycomprises an A/D converter to digitize the microphone output signal inan appropriate format e.g. 16 bits at 16 kHz. The data interface circuit307 is configured to convert the raw digital microphone signal into anappropriate data format before transmission as sensor data messages overa wired data communication link 312 extending through the flexibleconnector assembly 200 using one or several wires to a corresponding orcompatible data interface 112 arranged inside the BTE housing portion102 for example integrated on the microprocessor 111 as schematicallyindicated. The data interface circuits 307, 107 and wired datacommunication link 312 may be configured to transmit/receive data by aproprietary protocol or by standardized data communication protocol likeI²C, SPI, one-wire, etc. Data transmitted through the one-wire datainterface may for example be Manchester encoded.

Certain embodiments of the RIE module 300 may comprise a non-volatilememory circuit 212 for example comprising an EEPROM, EPROM or flashmemory that stores various types of calibration data or parametersand/or ID data associated with the sensor or sensors, e.g. themicrophone 310, and/or other components of the RIE module 300.

The wireless communication channel 400 may be exploited to communicatevarious types of data between the BTE housing portion 102/hearinginstrument 100 and various types of an external portable, ornon-portable, devices 500 such as smartphones, laptop computers,Tv-sets, alarm systems etc. These data may comprise streaming of audiodata such as music or speech from the external device 500 to thehead-wearable hearing instrument 100.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary timing diagram 600 for data exchange over thewireless communication channel 400 and data exchange over the wired datacommunication link 312 extending between the RIE module 300 and BTEhousing portion 102 through the flexible connector assembly 200. Thewireless communication channel 400 and the data interface circuits 307,107 are Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE compliant in the present embodimentbut the skilled person will understand that other types of proprietaryor standardized wireless interfaces may be utilizes with preference forcommunication standards that are low-power in view of the typicallylimited battery power and energy storage of batteries of hearinginstruments.

The protocol of the Bluetooth LE compliant wireless communicationchannel 400 and interface comprises a plurality of successive so-calledconnection events Ci1, Ci2, Ci3 etc. in which the BTE housing portion102 is physically, via the electromagnetic air interface, connected tothe external device 500. The connection events Ci1, Ci2, Ci3 etc. areseparated by intermediate idle time periods Uc1, Uc2 etc. where theexternal device 500 and BTE housing portion 102 are disconnected. Theconnection events may be separated in time by between 2 ms and 25 mssuch as about 15 ms and each connection event may last between 10 μs and1000 μs such as about 565 μs. The RF transceiver 114, 116 in the BTEhousing portion 102 may be powered-down during the idle-time periodsUc1, Uc2 etc. to conserve power.

In the present embodiment of the radio-frequency data communicationinterface and wireless communication channel 400 each of the connectionevents Ci1, Ci2, Ci3 are used as respective receipt time slots andtransmit time slots of the wirelessly transmitted data packets ormessages P1-P5 such that data packets P1 and P2 are transmitted in thefirst connection event Ci1 and data packets P3, P4 and P5 aretransmitted in the subsequent connection event Ci2 and so forth. Thefirst data packet P1 may for example be transmitted by the externaldevice 500 to the hearing instrument 100 where it is received via the RFantenna 104 and radio transceiver/interface circuit 114, 116 andconveyed to the processor 111 for decoding/unpacking and storage. Thehearing instrument 100 responds to receipt of the first data packet P1with transmission of the second data packet P2 to the external device500.

Hence, in the perspective of the hearing instrument 100 the beginningand end of the first data packet P1 defines a receipt time slot whilethe beginning and end of the second data packet P2 defines a transmittime slot. The second data packet P2 may for example include anacknowledgement bit or indicator signaling safe receipt of the firstdata packet P1 to the external device 500. The data packet P1, and thedata packets P2-P5, are formatted in accordance with the communicationprotocol in question which may be Bluetooth LE. Each of the data packetsP1-P5 may therefore comprise a header section and payload sectionholding various types of control information and audio data,respectively. Hence, in the present embodiment, each of the connectionevents Ci1, Ci2, Ci3 comprises both transmit and receipt time slots ofthe wireless communication channel 400.

During the first idle time period Uc1, the wireless communicationchannel 400 is silent or inoperative, e.g. because the wirelesstransceivers are powered down or shut down, while the respective sensordata packets or messages from sensor 1 and sensor 2 successively aretransmitted during respective transmit time slots by the data interfacecircuit 307 of the RIE module 300 over the wired data communication link312. These transmit time slots are defined by the processor 111 of theBTE housing portion 102. In the next connection event Ci2, the datapackets P3, P4 and P5 are exchanged during respective transmit andreceipt time slots of the wireless communication channel 400 and soforth. During the second idle-time period Uc2, the wirelesscommunication channel 400 is again silent or inoperative while therespective new or updated sensor data packets or messages aretransmitted by the data interface circuit 307 of the RIE module 300during respective transmit time slots from sensor 1 and sensor 2 overthe wired data communication link 312.

The skilled person will appreciate the processor 111 controls datacommunication such that the transmit and receipt time slots of thewireless communication channel 400 both are non-overlapping with thetransmit time slots of the sensor data packets on the wired datacommunication link 312. Preferably, at least the receipt time slots,again as seen from the hearing instrument 100, of the wirelesscommunication channel 400 and the transmit time slots of the wired datacommunication link 312 do not overlap in time because of the relativelyhigh noise sensitivity of the radio transceiver/interface circuit 114,116 which may corrupt the received data packets of the wireless channel400. A minimum of signal interference or noise is secured by merelytransmitting the sensor data packets or messages on the wired datacommunication link 312 when the wireless communication channel 400 issilent or inoperative and this feature prevents corruption of thewireless data packets and/or allows a higher data rate on the wirelesscommunication channel 400.

The skilled person will therefore appreciate that other embodiments mayutilize overlapping transmit time slots between the wirelesscommunication channel 400 and the wired data communication link 312because noise in the radio transceiver/interface circuit 114, 116 isless damaging such that for example transmission of the data packet P2may overlap the sensor data message Sensor 1.

The processor 111 preferably ensures that the transmit and receipt timeslots of the wireless communication channel 400 are non-overlapping withthe transmit time slots of the sensor data packets or messages on thewired data communication link 312 by polling the data interface circuit307 through the wired data communication link 312. The processor 111 isaware of the transmit time slots and receipt time slots of the wirelesscommunication channel 400 by knowledge of the protocol thereof e.g.Bluetooth LE and/or knowledge of the current connection parameters. Thisis the case both when the processor 111 is configured as a master deviceand slave device of the wireless communication channel 400.

The processor 111 may therefore write a particular command to a suitableregister of the data interface circuit 307 at known time instants suchthat the data interface circuit 307 in response transmits the sensordata message. The processor 111 may alternatively simply use a generalpurpose input-output port (GPIO) to assert a pin of the data interfacecircuit 307 by switching this pin between logic low and logic high orvice versa through the electrically conducting wires or traces of theflexible connector assembly 200. The state switching of the pin of thedata interface circuit 307 may force the latter to transmit the sensordata message or messages.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A head-wearable hearing instrumentcomprising: a first portion configured for placement at, or behind, anear of a user, and comprising a radio-frequency data communicationinterface, the radio-frequency data communication interface configuredfor data transmission in transmit time slots and for data reception inreceipt time slots, wherein the transmit time slots and the receipt timeslots are associated with the radio-frequency data communicationinterface; a second portion configured for placement in an ear canal ofthe user, and comprising a sensor configured to measure a propertyassociated with an operation of the head-wearable hearing instrument,wherein the sensor is also configured to generate sensor datarepresentative of the measured property; a connector assembly configuredto electrically and mechanically interconnect the first portion with thesecond portion; a wired data communication link extending between thefirst and second portions through the connector assembly forwired-transmission of the sensor data from the second portion to thefirst portion in transmit time slots associated with the wired datacommunication link; wherein the transmit time slots associated with thewired data communication link, and the receipt time slots associatedwith the radio-frequency data communication interface arenon-overlapping in time.
 2. The head-wearable hearing instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein the transmit time slots associated withwired data communication link and the transmit time slots associatedwith the radio-frequency data communication interface arenon-overlapping.
 3. The head-wearable hearing instrument according toclaim 1, wherein the first portion comprises a processor, and whereinthe processor of the first portion is configured to define the transmittime slots for transmission of the sensor data by polling a datainterface in the second portion via the wired data communication link.4. The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1, whereinthe second portion comprises one or more additional sensors configuredto measure respective physical properties; and wherein the one or moreadditional sensors is connected to the wired data communication link viarespective data interfaces or through a shared data interface.
 5. Thehead-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1, wherein thesecond portion further comprises a receiver or miniature loudspeakerconfigured to emit sound in accordance with an audio drive signalsupplied through at least two electrically conducting wires or traces ofthe connector assembly.
 6. The head-wearable hearing instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein the radio-frequency data communicationinterface comprises a Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE compliant interface. 7.The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 6, wherein acommunication protocol of the radio-frequency data communicationinterface comprises a plurality of successive connection events definingthe receipt time slots and the transmit time slots associated with theradio-frequency data communication interface.
 8. The head-wearablehearing instrument according to claim 7, wherein the first portion isphysically connected to an external portable communication device duringthe successive connection events, and is disconnected duringintermediate idle time periods.
 9. The head-wearable hearing instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein the wired data communication link iscompliant with an industry standard.
 10. The head-wearable hearinginstrument according to claim 1, wherein the second portion comprises: astiff hollow shell accommodating therein a miniature loudspeaker and thesensor; and a compressible elastomeric ear plug or dome-structurereleasably coupled to the stiff hollow shell, the ear plug or thedome-structure shaped and sized for placement within the ear canal. 11.The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1, wherein theradio-frequency data communication interface comprises an RF antenna,the RF antenna comprising at least one electrically conductive wire ortrace of the connector assembly.
 12. The head-wearable hearinginstrument according to claim 1, wherein the radio-frequency datacommunication interface comprises an RF antenna inside the firstportion.
 13. The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1,wherein the sensor in the second portion is configured to detect: earcanal sound pressure; sound pressure from an external environment; eartemperature; a spatial orientation; electrical activity associated witha brain.
 14. The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1,wherein the second portion comprises a volatile or non-volatile memorycircuit for storage of the sensor data.
 15. The head-wearable hearinginstrument according to claim 1, wherein the connector assemblycomprises a flexible carrier substrate or a flexible outer coating. 16.The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim 1, wherein theconnector assembly comprises a plurality of electrically conductingwires or traces interconnecting a wired data communication interface ofthe first portion with a wired data communication interface of thesecond portion.
 17. The head-wearable hearing instrument according toclaim 1, wherein the transmit time slots for transmission of the sensordata are defined by a processor.
 18. A method performed by ahead-wearable hearing instrument having a first portion and a secondportion, the method comprising: receiving data by a radio-frequency datacommunication interface of the first portion, wherein the data isreceived in receipt time slots that are associated with theradio-frequency data communication interface; measuring, by a sensor ofthe second portion, a property associated with an operation of thehearing instrument; generating, by the sensor, sensor datarepresentative of the measured property; and transmitting the sensordata from the second portion to the first portion through a wired datacommunication link extending through a connector assembly between thefirst and second portions in transmit time slots associated with thewired data communication link; wherein the transmit time slotsassociated with the wired data communication link, and the receipt timeslots associated with the radio-frequency data communication interfaceare non-overlapping in time.
 19. The head-wearable hearing instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein the wired data communication link forwired-transmission of the sensor data is configured for wirelesscommunication with a device outside the head-wearable hearinginstrument.
 20. The head-wearable hearing instrument according to claim19, wherein the wired data communication link comprises a wire of theconnector assembly, the wire connected to the sensor, and configured forthe wireless communication.
 21. The head-wearable hearing instrumentaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the transmit time slotsassociated with the wired data communication link is different from atleast one of the transmit time slots associated with the radio-frequencydata communication interface.
 22. The method of claim 18, wherein thewired data communication link is configured for wireless communicationwith a device outside the head-wearable hearing instrument.